Villager Goes Missing After Complaining to Putin About Chechen Ruler

Nov. 7, 2016

Ramzan Kadyrov (C)
Instagram

Months after complaining publicly to President Vladimir Putin about Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov, a man living in the Chechen village of Kenkhi has disappeared, according to the Dozhd television network.

Earlier this year in April, Ramazan Dzhalaldinov filmed a video appeal to Putin, describing the corruption of local officials, who he said have robbed people of monetary compensation sent by the federal government for destruction wrought in Moscow’s military campaigns in the 1990s.

A correspondent from Dozhd traveled to Kenkhi and spoke to several locals who confirmed Dzhalaldinov’s allegations. Chechen police later detained and interrogated the people who talked to the Dozhd reporter.

In mid-May, the website Chernovik.net reported that masked persons burned down Dzhalaldinov’s home, though Ramzan Kadyrov denied these claims, saying Dzhalaldinov burned down his own home and sent his family away from Chechnya, “in order to open the door to Europe.”

Weeks after this incident, Dzhalaldinov publicly apologized to Kadyrov. The apology was published on the state television network’s website, where the villager said, “I’m sorry. It was a mistake — a terrible mistake.”

According to Dzhalaldinov’s relatives, he planned to leave Chechnya on Nov. 3, following an injury sustained during a home construction project. Before he could leave, however, Dzhalaldinov and his son were temporarily detained by police, who confiscated their passports and mobile phones. Sources tell Dozhd that Dzhalaldinov disappeared the next day, and local police are apparently looking for him now.